Philip Frederick Anschutz (/ˈænʃuːts/AN-shoots; born December 28, 1939) is an American entrepreneur. Anschutz bought out his father's drilling company in 1961 and earned large returns in Wyoming. He has invested in stocks, real estate and railroads. He then began investing in entertainment companies, co-founding Major League Soccer as well as multiple teams, including the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire, Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes, and the New York / New Jersey Metro Stars. Anschutz owns stakes in the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, and venues including the Staples Center, O2 Arena, and the Home Depot Center. Anschutz also invests in family films such as The Chronicles of Narnia. Forbes ranks him the 34th richest person in the U.S. with an estimated net worth of $7 billion as of October 2010.[1]
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Anschutz was born in Russell, Kansas, the son of Marian (née Pfister) and Frederick Benjamin "Fritz" Anschutz.[2][3] His father was a land investor who invested in ranches in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, and eventually went into the oil-drilling business. Anschutz's grandfather, Karl Anschütz (born November 10, 1859, in the largely German region[citation needed] of Samara), emigrated from Russia and started the Farmers State Bank in Russell, Kansas. Anschutz grew up in Hays, Kansas, with part of the family located in Wisconsin (the location of his father's oil-exploration business, Circle A Drilling, where he lived near Bob Dole). In later years, Anschutz contributed to Dole's political campaigns. He graduated from Wichita High School East in 1957, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Kansas in 1961.[4] His first cousin was the fellow Russell native and long-time KCTV news anchor Wendall Anschutz.[5]
A member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, he is a conservative Christian. He and his wife Nancy, whom he met when he was 16, have three children. Anschutz was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2002.[6]
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Often identified as "Christian billionaire Phil Anschutz",[36] he is a Republican donor who supported George W. Bush's administration. He has been an active patron of a number of religious and conservative causes:
Helped fund Colorado's 1992 Amendment 2, a ballot initiative designed to overturn local and state laws that prohibit discrimination against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation but was invalidated by Romer v. Evans after it passed.[23]
Contributed $70,000 in 2003 to the Discovery Institute, to specifically support the work of telecom guru George Gilder but not matters related to intelligent design. That fact was validated by Discovery President Bruce Chapman in a letter-to-the-editor to the Rocky Mounatain News, "Anschutz never gave that program a nickel,"[37]
The Discovery Institute is a think tank based in Seattle, Washington that also promotes intelligent design and criticizes evolution.[38]
Supported the Parents Television Council, a group that protests against television indecency.[38]
Financed and distributed films with Christian themes, such as Amazing Grace and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, for mass audiences through his two film production companies and ownership of much of the Regal, Edwards and United Artists theater chains.
Financed The Foundation for a Better Life.
In 2009 Anschutz purchased the conservative American opinion magazine The Weekly Standard from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.[29]
Philip Anschutz and fellow board members of the American Petroleum Institute in Washington are credited by Bush's energy secretary for the Oval Office decision to kill the Kyoto Protocol in 2001.[citation needed]
Financed the 2010 pro-charter school film, Waiting for Superman.[39]
Financed the 2012 pro-parent trigger film, Won't Back Down.[40]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Anschutz
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